Human Stem Cells Can be Used to Repair Tissues Damaged by Heart Attack

Researchers at University of
Cambridge have developed a method to repair the damage caused to tissues as a
result of heart attack. The team led by Dr Sanjay Sinha of University of
Cambridge and researchers at University of Washington, have used supportive
epicardial cells developed from human stem cells to help transplanted heart
cells live longer.
The researchers used 3D human
heart tissue grown in the lab from human stem cells to test the cell
combination, finding that the supportive epicardial cells helped heart muscle
cells to grow and mature. They also improved the heart muscle cell’s ability to
contract and relax. In rats with damaged hearts,
the combination also allowed the transplanted cells to survive and restore lost
heart muscle and blood vessel cells.
Researchers now hope to
understand how the supportive epicardial cells help to drive heart
regeneration. Understanding these key details will bring them one step closer
to testing heart regenerative therapies in clinical trials. Hundreds of thousands of people
in the UK are living with debilitating heart failure, often as a result of a
heart attack. During a heart attack, part of the heart is deprived of oxygen
leading to death of heart muscle. This permanent loss of heart muscle as well
as subsequent scarring combines to reduce the heart’s ability to pump blood
around the body.
People suffering from heart
failure can’t regenerate their damaged hearts and the only cure is a heart
transplant. Ultimately, these researchers hope that, by harnessing the
regenerative power of stem cells, they will one day be able to heal human
hearts using a patient’s own cells.
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